3D Printed Bronze Mold
In 2015 with the support of Concordia University's Hexagram Research Laboratories (currently 'Milieux') I created a fully 3D printed metal mold for glassblowing. It was designed on a laptop and printed with Shapeways 3D printing company; once it arrived finished in the mail, I was able to produce a full day's production of glassworks at Espace Verre glass studio in Montreal. As a critique of the diminished value of such objects, I snuck one vessel into a thrift store and placed it on the shelf amongst factory glassware. It was priced at $1.50.
View of 20 blown vessels from the mold.
See how metal is 3D printed in the link below:
Here is a reference photo for the ancient roman mold-blown glass that I took as a reference point in this project. These date from as early as 70CE and are generally around the size of your hand. These are pictures I took at the 2015 Ennion Exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. You can see researcher/ glass artist team, Mark Taylor and David Hill recreate this process in the link below.